I love EarlVanDorn’s advice. Paying attention, EVD!
Last year DH & I were flying from Europe to the US. We were seated in that awful middle section, I gave DH the isle seat so he could stretch his long legs. On my other side sat an enormous, not obese just enormous Russian weight lifter. He was with a team of weightlifters flying to some kind of an athletic competition. As we sat waiting for takeoff, his body just expanded by the minute, taking up more and more of my space. Usually I don’t mind this too much because I’m petite and fit pretty well into most airline seats. But this was going to be a 10+ hour flight, this guy was Russian (and they often DRINK. Heavily.) who promptly took off his hoodie under which he wore nothing more than a kind of tank top. Eww.
It was shaping up to be an awful flight. Until a miracle happened: there was a mechanical problem which forced all of us to deplane and be rescheduled for another flight. Once back in the terminal, my husband went to the United desk an turned on the charm. Quietly, with a smile, and total understanding for the difficulties the flight agent was facing, he told of my predicament – of my seat being engulfed by a giant Russian weightlifter in a wife beater shirt. (OK. He didn’t really say that last part.) He gently asked for our seats to be reassigned - if that were at all possible - once we had a new plane. The agent laughed, said she’d see what she could do.
The end result: UPGRADE to business!!! I kid you not, we flew home in style, sleeping sweetly in almost-beds and feted with champagne and Belgian chocolates.
Bless that Russian weightlifter.